Home Is Where The Heart Is
by of self
Summary: As he sees the snow covered footpath and smells the crisp air, he thinks it feels so good to be home. But he knows that's not the real reason. Lizzie/Edwin


Edwin sits in taxi, staring at the snow piled high on the footpaths. It feels so good to be home again, to smell the crisp air, to see warmly dressed people holding steaming cups, filled with hot beverages.

But most of all he knows the one reason he cannot wait to get back home has nothing to do with London, Ontario. It has everything to do with Lizzie. Lizzie who is supposed to be his step-sister even though he doesn't really see her as one, Lizzie who was and still is his partner in crime. Lizzie is his best friend.

_Lizzie. Lizzie. Lizzie._

The four years he has spent at university have been filled alternately with thoughts of chemistry, math and Lizzie. And now that he is coming back all he can think of is Lizzie. His family comes in a distant second. Don't get him wrong, he loves them but he didn't miss them much and he's pretty sure they didn't miss him much too; well maybe George did because Edwin always did his taxes for him. He's the middle child and he's used to it. And frankly speaking, he hasn't grown up feeling unloved or anything. He's turned out pretty fine in all aspects. Except for one little thing.

The fact that he is deeply in love with Lizzie.

When Edwin looks back over the facts because he's logical like that, he realizes that falling in love with Lizzie was bound to happen. He had spent his formative teenage years with a pretty girl his age for a best friend. He wasn't going to walk away from that, without some feelings _at least_.

And while he's pretty much accepted his feelings for Lizzie- because why fight something that feels so right and manifests itself so strongly- he's not sure she even has an inkling of what he feels. He's not even sure if she feels anything at all for him other fuzzy brotherly love.

Edwin likes to make it his business to know everything. And he doesn't know under what classification he comes in, inside Lizzie's head. And that is scary.

He's close to reaching home and his stomach is filled with butterflies which are partying up a storm up there. He wants to ruthlessly stop them in their tracks but then he remembers Lizzie and her environmental fanaticism and he gives up on his murderous thoughts. This it self gives him an indication of how far-gone he is, he is willing to not think murderous thoughts of pesky fictional butterflies simply because of Lizzie.

He sighs.

The taxi stops in front of his house and Edwin gets out. He feels like he's gone a few years back in time only now it's a much taller and less skinny version of him who looks at the house with its snow covered lawns and shuttered windows. He pays the taxi and lugs his suitcase to the porch. He rings the doorbell and he waits.

God, those idiotic butterflies are fluttering madly again.

_(and it's like he's fourteen again)_

-

The door opens and Edwin steps inside. At once it sounds like there is an explosion of noise and he is showered by confetti. His family descends on him en masse and for a moment Edwin is buried under numerous people and shouts of "welcome back Edwin (his parents and Marti) Ed-weirdo (who else but Derek) Ed (Casey).

They finally let go and Edwin takes a moment to breathe before snapping his head up to look for her. She didn't descend on him with the rest of the family and for that he is glad because he's been waiting for this moment for four _freaking_ years.

He lifts his head up and there _she_ is standing. She's a taller version of herself. Taller, slender and prettier. By this time the whole family is dispersed around and drawn towards the enormous amount of food that has been laid out on the table.

He moves forward and she moves forward too. They both stand awkwardly for a while not knowing what to do. She suddenly engulfs him in a hug and all those four years of waiting seem worth it to Edwin. H's arms wind around her tightly and he smells her hair and feels her soft cheeks against his and thinks that even though this is like some clichéd movie scene, he still loves it.

When he finally lets go, he knows he's created a memory which he has put away for later use in case somebody- and god forbid it's Lizzie comes to know of his love for her and decides to never speak to him again.

Lizzie is smiling and he's smiling too, he doesn't really know why. All he knows is that he's smiling because Lizzie is. She pulls him down onto the couch and he falls awkwardly onto to her.

His head screams awkward, his face screams awkward. Really his whole body screams awkward. He somehow gets off and sits down on the couch some distance away, his face flaming the color of a fire engine truck.

Lizzie is however amused by all of this. Clearly she didn't find it as awkward as him. She found it funny which is more painful than anything else because the last thing he needs to be stereotyped is as funny Edwin.

He sighs loudly and someone calls for Lizzie from the kitchen. She gets up to go, not before dropping a kiss on Edwin's head though. And then a tiny smile breaks on his face.

_(and maybe all is not lost_)

-

They have dinner sitting around the table and it feels good to be amongst family. Derek and Casey maybe be engaged but they haven't changed bit. They fight as much as they used only now, heated make-out sessions serve as apologies.

Sometimes it's cute but sometimes its gag inducing as Marti lets them know in a stage whisper.

Derek and Casey break apart embarrassedly and everybody laughs at their expense. He looks around the table and realizes that maybe he has been a little too dismissive. He _has_ missed his family and the general madness that goes along with them.

He picks up his fork and he's in the process of transferring this piece of lettuce- yes, he does eat vegetables and yes it has to do with a certain step-sister/ love of his life/ best friend- when he catches Lizzie looking at him thoughtfully. He can see her pink lips purse and her blue eyes darken and the fork promptly misses his mouth and pokes his cheek instead.

He yelps loudly and the whole family laughs but for once he doesn't care because looking at Lizzie just made him realize something.

She _knows_.

She _has known_ for quite a while now. He doesnt know how she knows but it's evident to him that she simply does.

The fork falls from his hand and lands on the plate, clattering. He smiles weakly at his family to assure them it's nothing and looks back at his plate. _She knows- _those two words run through this mind again and again as he feels wave after of dread course through him. A million thoughts run through his mind and he can't help but feel that somehow everything is going to the dogs.

Maybe after this dinner he should leave citing some excuse. He can always take up a job with that company which has been hounding him since his third year of college.

And he'll never have to see Liz again even though it would kill him not to. But he knows it would be better that way because what would kill him even more is seeing him fall in her eyes.

He's mechanically eating his steak after the making the decision. It tastes like sawdust but he's chewing anyways. He looks at Lizzie for one last time and she is looking at him all worriedly. He looks until he can't bear to look anymore.

With each passing second he feels more and more like a piece of shit.

Finally this torturous excuse for a dinner finishes and he excuses himself saying he's tired. He doesn't even wait to see if they buy it, he just leaves the dining room. He goes to his old room up in the attic and lies down on the bed.

Everything is still the same and nothing is out of place. His research binder sits on the table and his other binder which was full of investment plans. Suddenly the room's the blurring and there's a deafening sound in his ears that keeps getting louder and louder.

_(it's the sound of a world collapsing)_

--

It's two o' clock in the morning and Edwin is staring at the ceiling because he simply can't sleep. Every time he closes his eyes all he can see is Lizzie and her distancing herself from him. He'd rather tape his eyes open than see that happening.

He gets up because he needs to clear his head, bring back some semblance of order to his brain.

He goes down to the kitchen and stops in his tracks. There's Lizzie sitting at the kitchen table and eating a sandwich- which happens to be PB and J because he knows that's what Lizzie eats if she has trouble sleeping.

He turns to go back to the deafening silence of his bedroom but Lizzie calling his name stops him. He knows she hasn't seen him and he hasn't made a sound at all for her to realize his presence. He always was good at treading softly but Lizzie was always better at catching him out.

He sighs and he returns to the table. Lizzie grins at him and pushes a bag of Doritos his way.

"You're a complete idiot Edwin" she says as she licks the jam off her fingers.

And right now he cannot agree more. He nods in assent and rips open the bag of Doritos.

"You should have known better than to jump to such conclusions" she says as she wipes her hand on some tissues and drops it into the waste bin.

Okay now he's simply confused. Is this her way of telling him she hates him? Because then he'd rather than not hear it. His heart has done enough breaking for one day, thank you very much. He gets up to leave.

"Ed, will you sit down and listen for a moment" she says with a slight tinge of exasperation.

Okay he's really not getting all of this. But since she's not exactly staring daggers at him he's okay, he'll live.

"Ed have you noticed that when I hugged you I always held you a little longer?" she's looking at him earnestly, her eyes boring into him.

And he always thought it was him. Now it turns out of it was the both of them. He nods his head in bemusement.

"And that I never had any steady boyfriends?"

But he thought she was just looking for the right one, who just so happened to be missing in action at that very moment! He nods once again. The dimples in his cheeks are beginning to peep out. And maybe, just maybe he won't have to make a hasty exit to drown in his sorrows.

"And what did you make of all of that?" she is now looking at him with an amused smile. Privately he thinks she can't resist the dimples.

"I thought that maybe it meant we were really close friends and nothing more."

And with that statement he's feeling really sheepish now. He wants to whack his head against the kitchen counter but so many opposing factors are working against. One that it wouldn't be cool to do it in front of the girl he's madly in love with. Two it's midnight. Three his parents are notoriously light sleepers and they will come down and cut short this midnight party on account of the fact that it's their house and therefor their rules even though Lizzie and Edwin are adults who can legally do whatever the hell they want and that includes staying up late.

Lizzie whacks her head gently with her hand.

"It figures that only I would fall in love with the most clueless, intelligent dork _ever_"

Edwin does fall off the kitchen stool. Lizzie _loves_ him. She has loved him for quite a while. And she knew he loved her. Then what the hell had they been doing so far? He then asks her exactly that.

"I was waiting for you to make the first move, idiot. I have been waiting, like only for my entire teenage" she says with some understandable exasperation. And Edwin has the grace to blush. If he had only been a little less afraid of rejection and a little braver about putting his heart out there they might have had something other than teenage angst to deal with.

Maybe he's a little late but there's no time like the present.

And so he makes a move. And he's happy to notice that she doesn't reject it but rather welcomes it.

_(and to say the heavens are singing wouldn't be a complete exaggeration)_

-

At around 4 in the morning Edwin falls asleep with Lizzie tucked in securely next to him. He's going to move to Toronto and Lizzie is moving there too. She already has a job waiting there for her and he's pretty sure he'll be able to find one too. And maybe it won't all be a bed of roses but at least he's going to be next to her with the knowledge that she loves him back, and that in itself should make for a wonderful life. And in his sleep Edwin smiles.

In the morning Nora finds them sleeping together and all her motherly instincts come to the fore. Liz and Ed always seemed like the couple who would make it and could make it but didn't. And they finally are together now. She takes a moment to wipe away the tear rolling down on her cheek.

She only wants happiness for her kids and if they are going to find it together then so be it. Of course it's going to be awkward to explain it to the relatives but' she's sure George will think of something.

Edwin wakes up to find Lizzie looking at him with this air of affection, love and amusement all rolled into one.

He's not drooling is he?

Shit, he is.

He wipes it away with an embarrassed smile. Words don't need to be exchanged but it doesn't hurt to let her know right? And maybe he needs to make up for all the lost time. And that should be a lot of making up to do. But he doesn't mind.

"I love you"

"Took you long enough to say it but I love you anyways" she says giving him a kiss.

And as Edwin closes his eyes and enjoys this new but wonderful feeling of holding Lizzie in his arms, he knows that he is _finally_ home. And that it feels so very good to be there.

_(and there's no place I would be but here in your arms)_

-

* * *

**And that was my first attempt at Lizwin. Hope it was decent and didn't tank. I think this would be AU. Tell me if I went wrong somewhere. I haven't seen LwD for a really long time cause stupid stupid Disney took it off air and I maybe rusty cause I have to rely only on my imagination and fan videos.**

**Anyways please do review. I would very much appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LwD and nor do I own the song lyrics which is the last line of italics. And if you are interested the song is Here in Your Arms by Hello Goodbye.**

**And once again, don't forget to review! **

**Thanks. :)**


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